. . . In July, Oamaru took the title of Seven Sharp’s New Zealand’s Sharpest Town competition in a landslide victory.

As a result, Oamaru played host to the Seven Sharp team for a live broadcast from the Victorian Precinct on August 5.

All things good about the district, including Alps 2 Ocean, businesses, education, steampunk, the Victorian Precinct, the Penguin Colony and the people, were showcased to about 409,700 people around the country.

LJ Hooker’s Stephen Robertson said the company had noted a 30 per cent increase in the volume of sales since the Seven Sharp publicity.

Of the 30 per cent increase, about 60 per cent of inquiries had come from out of town, with some specifically mentioning the TVNZ exposure. . . .

There will be other factors influencing the increased sales but the television programme has had a positive impact.

It’s also helped locals look at the District with a fresh appreciation of its charms and given us a welcome infusion of positivity.

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Oamaru used to be a small town you had to pass through to get from Christchurch to Dunedin.

It’s still in the same place but it’s becoming a destination.

The little blue penguins, yellow eyed penguins, historic buildings, steam punk, good restaurants, the Vanished World fossil trail, Alps to Ocean cycle trail and many other natural and (wo)man made attractions have made it a destination in its own right.

There’s one last chance for television this morning. Q & A starts at 9am.

A media release from TVNZ says:

We speak to the Government’s Mr Fix It, Steven Joyce, about the deals with Novopay and SkyCity, and question how committed the government is to creating new jobs.

Also on the programme, should marriage be solely between a man and woman; we hear from a gay couple who question why they’re being treated as second class citizens. We debate the same-sex marriage bill with Labour MP Louisa Wall and Conservative Party Leader Colin Craig, and ask if gay couples should be able to adopt.

On the panel this week is political scientist Dr Raymond Miller, publisher Ian Wishart, and former Labour party candidate Josie Pagani.

Join host Susan Wood and political editor Corin Dann on Q+A at 9am this Sunday on TV One.

I probably won’t be. I have other things on my agenda this morning – as do most other people at 9am on Sunday. But I will try to catch up with what happened on MySky later in the hope that maybe one little corner of television thinks there is something happening in New Zealand which people ought to know about.